Facebook launches fake news reporting tool in Germany

Facebook plans to deploy a tool to deal with fake news in Germany in the coming weeks, after announcing tests of the tool last month.

The move comes after reports that some German politicians wanted to impose fines of thousands of euros for each fake news story disseminated.

The process of identifying fake news will typically begin with a report from a Facebook user. The company is making it easier to report fake news, it said Sunday: Users need only click on the upper right corner of a post to file a report.

Such reports, and other warning signs identified by Facebook, will result in the suspect news report being forwarded to a team of fact-checkers working outside the company. The company has been seeking fact-checking partners since last November. The fact-checkers it works with now have all signed up to the code of principles disseminated by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) at the Poynter Institute, a Florida-based training center for journalists, Facebook said Sunday.

If one of Faebook's fact-checking partners considers a news report to be fake, then the report will be displayed on the site with a label identifying it as untrustworthy.

Facebook won't stop people sharing such reports, but it will display the warning alongside them, including a link explaining why the warning is attached to that story.

While some fake news stories are disseminated to influence debate, others are circulated to make money. Facebook is cracking down on spammers pretending to be reputable news agencies in order to drive visitors to their sites.

There's still work to be done on the tool being introduced in Germany, but Facebook intends to put it to work stopping the spread of fake news in other countries too.

Slideshows

ARN Exchange: Channel discusses security spending priorities

Customers spending priorities, drawing up a security strategy for customers and partners, detailing how partners can increase profit through security and outlining key areas of market growth ahead were some of the topics discussed at the ARN Exchange event in Sydney. Partners got together to talk about the spending priorities of customers within the security market today and the skills required from partners to deliver those services. The event was in association with Juniper Networks, Webroot, Cloud Plus and Mimecast. Photos by Christine Wong.

What are the spending priorities of customers within the security market today and what are the skills required from partners to deliver those services? An overview of the security market in Australia was debated in the ARN Exchange event in Melbourne with discussions covering the customers spending priorities, drawing up a security strategy for customers and partners, detailing how partners can increase profit through security and outlining key areas of market growth ahead. The event was in association with Juniper Networks, Webroot, Cloud Plus and Mimecast. Photos by Raymond Korn.

The channel came together for the forth running of the ARN Emerging Leaders Forum in Australia, created to provide a program that identifies, educates and showcases the upcoming talent of the ICT industry.
Hosted as a half day forum, attendees heard from industry specialists as keynoters and panellists discussed leadership paths and career choices. Hall of Fame members and industry mentors​ hosted small groups of future leaders to mentor and advise.
This also marked ARN's inaugural 30 Under 30 Tech Awards, which recognised young talent in the Australian IT industry across technical, sales, marketing, management, human resources and entrepreneur categories.
Photos by Christine Wong.

Copyright 2019 IDG Communications. ABN 14 001 592 650. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of IDG Communications is prohibited.